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March 1 st: Paphiopedilum Maudiae Hybrids Speaker: Tim Culbertson

Although I teach middle school kids for a living, one of my passions has always been plants. I began growing orchids as an offshoot from working at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia just after college. From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and selected clones of historic importance, of which my collection numbers nearly 3000. While I love finding old, rare stepping stones in Paph. breeding, I also do a little hybridizing of my own, and growing up my own babies is a blast. I am the youngest accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and have served in various capacities with various orchid societies in California and on the East Coast. I love meeting other people who like orchids too, and doing so often finds me traveling to shows, vendors, and peoples’ greenhouses to see the latest and greatest in new hybrids and to get the best orchid gossip. I like to be involved in plants as much as possible: in addition to Longwood, I’ve worked at the Smithsonian Institution tending to their orchids, and for years for the United States National Arboretum, collecting rare plants and documenting cultivated species and hybrids for their herbarium. In short, I really like plants. For your meeting, I’ll be sharing a presentation on Maudiae-type Paphs. These plants are easy to grow and flower, are vigorous, and have low demands on light and fertilizer, and as such are wonderful plants! Tremendous advancements in breeding Maudiae-type Paphs have been made recently, and I will share some of these with you, as well as help identify some of the important species in the backgrounds of historically important and modern Maudiae-type Paphs. By the end of this presentation, you will have a new appreciation of what goes into breeding trends for these types of plants, as well as an appreciation of their beautiful flowers and ease-of-growth. I will be providing a plant table of the newest, modern, cutting-edge Maudiae-Paph-style breeding, with both blooming and un-bloomed plants.

Phyllis S. Prestia will be our guest speaker on February 1st, 2017. She is a retired educator and Middle School Principal. She received a Doctorate of Education at Rutgers University, where she also served as instructor in the graduate education program. Originally from New Jersey, she moved to California with her husband to retire in the sunny, San Diego area and grow orchids. Her collection includes a variety of species and hybrids across several genera grown both in a small greenhouse and three outdoor growing areas under shade cloth. In her orchid life she has been the President of the San Diego County Cymbidium Society and currently serves as the Vice President of the Cymbidium Society of America, as well as keeping active in several Southern California orchid societies. She is currently a probationary judge for the American Orchid Society. Photo by Don Goss

Please join us on Wednesday, November 2nd, at the Sepulveda Garden Center, as we present “The genus Sarcochilus, its charm and ease of growth”.

Carol Beule is an EMMY award winning Costume Designer with a Master of Fine Arts in both Costume and Lighting Design from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has been a professional Costume Designer since 1974, when she joined United Scenic Artists, a NYC based entertainment Union consisting of the creative personnel for designing film, commercials, theater productions and TV shows.

Growing orchids in NYC was not considered a possibility, so she has grown orchids only since moving to Southern California in 1992. Growing outside with no greenhouse in Studio City at the edge of the San Fernando Valley is sometimes problematic. With temperatures ranging from 28 to 111 Fahrenheit, and humidity as low as 7% at times, it is always interesting. It has been her quest to find out what will and will not bloom and prosper under these circumstances. In her search to find the perfect plant for her growing area, Carol discovered the Japanese orchid called Neofinetia (Vanda) falcata and various other species that thrive outside in Southern California. Sarcochilus is one of those species. Carol grows various forms of Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Laelia, Dendrobium, Lycaste, Asian Cymbidium and Rossioglossum. Sarcochilus is a charming but smaller flowered species of orchids and is native to Australia. While they are often thought to be the “perfect” undergrowth plant for Standard Cymbidiums, they can be grown alongside Cattleyas and any other outdoor growing temperate climate range orchid. They can become beautiful “specimen” plants and are now starting to come in a wider range of colors due to intensive breeding by Scott Barrie and his family at Barrita Orchids in Australia. Fred Clarke, of Sunset Valley Orchids, is the US distributor for these Barrita hybrids. Carol is an AOS Probationary Judge, the 1st VP and a Member of the Orchid Society of Southern California, serves on the Board of Orchid Digest and is on the committee that creates the Society’s display for the Huntington’s annual October Orchid Show. She now is semi-retired and is starting a new business venture: “Nichi Bachi (decorative pots) by Beule” to make Neofinetia and Cymbidium presentation pots. Carol will bring some of these pots along with her for members to see examples of her work.

We enjoy our orchids when they look their best. We love beautiful arrangements when we go to shows and see the exhibits. With a desire to increase our personal enjoyment and with show season upon us, we will be looking at techniques to have our plants present their beautiful blooms to their best. Tips on staking, plant grooming and small table top displays will also be covered. Join us on Wednesday, October 5th for this interesting presentation by our President, Arthur Pinkers.

Arthur has been an orchid enthusiast since the age of sixteen, when he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratixiae x Slc. Hermes), which infected him with the orchid bug. His forty plus years of experience growing orchids started in the Pacific Northwest with a greenhouse to fend off the cold, rainy days, but a decade ago a job change forced him to move to Santa Clarita, California, where the conditions are extreme for growing orchids.

Growing up in the Seattle area, Arthur attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology. He worked for many years as a chemist, and had the fortune of having his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990. Despite not having a current career working with orchids, Arthur has taken an active role in the orchid community. He has been an Accredited Orchid Judge for over twenty years and has served in most executive positions on the Board of the Northwest Orchid Society, including serving as President from 1988 to 1989, and as a center photographer for the Pacific Northwest Judging region. Currently, Arthur serves as the Center Judging Chair at the Pacific South – San Marino Judging Center and one of the photographers for the Pacific South Judging Center. Though he has an interest in a wide variety of orchids, botanicals are a special draw to him for their diversity and charm.

Arthur has been married to his wife, Margie, for over twenty-seven years, and has two adult children. While they have not inherited his knack for growing orchids, his family enjoys the beauty and wild aromas his backyard jungle brings to their home, a respite from the desert landscape around them.

Recent American Orchid Society Awards

The American Orchid Society recently granted awards at the Pacific South Monthly Judging in San Marino which was held at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. This photo was taken by Arthur Pinkers.

This is a meeting you won’t want to miss. Our next SFVOS meeting will feature a panel of experts who will give you all info on how to get the best results from your own orchids at home. Our panel of experts will be AOS Judge and our new president, Arthur Pinkers, Orchid Expert and cymbidium grower extraordinaire, Art Mendoza and our new Vice President and long time orchid grower, Mark Bentow.

The panel will discuss the best way to keep your orchids healthy, how to water and fertilize each type of orchid, how and when to report and how to coax your orchids to re-bloom.

Bring your questions, and if you have a plant that needs special attention, bring it to the meeting and ask our experts what to do to bring your plant back to optimal health.

Don’t forget to bring your blooming orchids to show in our Plant Forum, and if you can, bring a snack to share with the group. Bring a guest, and we will see you there!

The San Fernando Valley Orchid Society is pleased to announce our second annual “Christmas in July” Party which will be held on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 7:00 pm. We will be meeting at the Sepulveda Garden Center, located at 16633 Magnolia Blvd, Encino, CA 91436.

Guests are always welcome!July is the beginning of the new fiscal year for our Society and this year we have a lot to celebrate. We are thrilled to announce that at the July meeting we will be installing our new President, who is none other than the eminently qualified Orchid Expert and AOS Certified Judge, Arthur Pinkers. We will also be installing a new Treasurer and several additional members who have graciously volunteered to serve on our Board of Directors.

To kick the new year off properly we will be having a special event at the next meeting. It’s our second annual “Christmas in July” Potluck Dinner. Everyone had so much fun last year at this event, and we will hopefully make this an annual tradition. We will be sharing a Potluck dinner. We have some great cooks in our membership, so be prepared to have a great dinner and delicious desserts. Each member is asked to bring a dish to serve eight persons.

We will be calling all members to take a poll of what delicious homemade creations they are planning to bring. You should receive a call soon but if, perchance, you do not receive a call, please call Millie at (805) 532-0080 to let her know what you are bringing. Please remember to bring serving utensils too. This is a low-waste event, so please bring a reusable place setting if you are able.

After dinner we plan to play a few Bingo games and then a few of our members will be bringing and showing off a few of their favorite plants. Be sure to mark your calendars, because you won’t want to miss this party. We really do have a lot to celebrate! See you there!

We are delighted to welcome Arthur Pinkers as speaker for our June 1st meeting.

Arthur has been an orchid enthusiast for almost 40 years when, as a 16 year-old, he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratrixiae x Slc. Hermes) and was infected by the orchid bug. He and his wife Margie of over 25 years have two adult children who recently graduated from high school and are attending College of the Canyons. Arthur grew up in the Seattle area and attended Western Washington University graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology. He and his wife currently live in Santa Clarita, California where Arthur is learning to grow orchids under extreme conditions, very different than those in his native Pacific Northwest. Arthur worked for many years as a chemist and also had the fortune of holding his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990. Arthur’s interest in orchids covers a broad range of types with botanicals being a special draw. Arthur has served on most executive positions on the Board of the Northwest Orchid Society and is a Past President. He is a veteran Accredited Orchid Judge and serves as a photographer and as Chair of Information for the Pacific South Judging region. Previously he served as center photographer for the Pacific Northwest Judging region.

Arthur’s talk should be very informative on a subject that we have not had in recent history. Arthur will provide the POT, which will feature plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Orchids Royale.

The San Fernando Valley Orchid Society is pleased to announce it’s first annual Orchid Sale. This is our major fundraising event of the year and we hope to raise enough funds to pay for our expenses, educational programs and fabulous speakers for the remainder of the year.

This sale is open to the public. We have managed to procure some really beautiful orchid plants, most of which are in bud or in bloom. We were able to get many of them from Hawaii, and the rest are from great California growers. Our members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have at the show. We will have a plant hotel to hold your selections until you are ready to check out and take your prized plants home. We will also be serving light refreshments. This is a great opportunity to find our more about our society and our friendly and knowledgeable members.

SFVOS Members only: All members are urged to proudly wear their badge and help out at the sale for as many hours as possible. You can be a host, greeting prospective buyers and assisting them in selecting plants. If you find questions you cannot answer, there will be other members who can help. For those of you volunteering to work at the sale we will get our set up started at 9:00 AM. We need volunteers to help register the buyers and help carry plants to the plant hotel. We also need a few of you to stay after 2:00 PM to help us clean-up. This is a wonderful opportunity to tell guests about the benefits of membership in our Society: the educational speakers, the plant opportunity table, and the interchange of ideas and experiences with fellow orchid lovers. If you have some blooming plants you wish to contribute to the sale please bring them to Ned Daniger’s home: 17351 Nordhoff Street in Northridge on April 7th between 12:00 noon and 5:00 PM,or you can bring them on the day of the sale, April 9th, at 9:00 AM to the Sepulveda Garden Center. This is YOUR opportunity to support our Society. We look forward to seeing you at the sale!

Our guest speaker for our next SFVOS General meeting on March 2, 2016 is our very own SFVOS Vice President Pamela Aitchison, who will be sharing information about how to keep our orchids healthy in our home environments. Her talk will cover many topics that will especially be of interest to new orchid growers, but experienced orchid growers may learn a trick or two as well.

Pam is a Certified University of California Master Gardener, and has been teaching organic gardening for many years. She provides training to the new Master Gardener Candidates every year, and is a regular guest lecturer at California State University Northridge (CSUN), the LA County Fair, and schools and non-profit organizations throughout Southern California.

Pam has been growing orchids for more than 30 years, and her collection includes Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, Miltonias & Miltoniopsis, Oncidiums, Masdevallias, as well as Phalaenopsis, Cymbidiums, Vandas, Vanilla Orchids and Zygopetalums.

Pam will be showing us a PowerPoint Presentation and will hopefully give you many ideas and suggestions for caring for your orchids at home. You won’t want to miss this lecture, so mark your calendar today.